Vatican City, Oct 9, 2012 / 13:15 pm
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York told the synod of bishops gathered at the Vatican that "the primary sacrament of the New Evangelization is the sacrament of penance."
"Yes the sacraments of initiation – baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist – change, challenge and equip the agents of evangelization, but the sacrament of reconciliation evangelizes the evangelizers, as it brings us sacramentally into contact with Jesus who calls us to conversion of heart and inspires (us) to answer his invitation to repentance," Cardinal Dolan said on Oct. 9, the third day of the synod.
Cardinal Dolan is one of seven U.S. bishops present at the synod, which runs October 7-28 and was convened by Pope Benedict to discuss the theme of "The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith."
Speaking in the presence of the Pope, Cardinal Dolan proposed that for a new evangelization to happen "the very agents of evangelization must first be evangelized themselves," and that begins with sacramental confession.